Telecommunications turnover dropped by three per cent in 2014

Published 06.08.2015

The total turnover from telecommunications in 2014 was almost 3.4 billion. Particularly the revenue received from broadband and telephone services in the fixed network clearly decreased compared to the previous year. The revenue from the mobile network dropped only slightly, whereas the revenue from TV and radio operations increased by nearly one fifth compared to 2013.

The decrease in the fixed network revenue is partly attributable to retail prices. The list prices of fixed broadband subscriptions have dropped during the recent years in all speed categories. The most significant price reduction has occurred in subscriptions with a connection speed of 10–30 Mbps. The prices of these subscriptions dropped, on average, by 7 per cent compared to the previous year. It can be estimated that part of the revenue is now also received from IPTV services offered by telecommunications operators. IPTV services mean TV services that are provided to households via broadband subscriptions. Via these services, it is possible to watch in real time the same programmes that can be watched via cable or terrestrial TV.

Investments in telecommunications amounted EUR 525 million last year. As the total investments in telecommunications dropped by 7 per cent, the investments in the fixed network were the only ones that grew. Many actors with a cooperative business operations model submitted their data for the first time. In order to maintain the comparability with the previous year, the data provided by these actors is excluded from the total figures. The business operations of these actors are very strongly focused on fixed network investments which amounted over EUR 70 million.

The information is based on FICORA's second Communications Sector Review which also discusses the television's transition to HD broadcasts, malware observations, and the development of postal services.